1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a narrow width crochet knitting machine having a driving mechanism of a weft guide bar and warp guide bar, and more particularly, in addition to a driving mechanism of a warp guide bar for one kind of warp knitting structure such as a tricot knitting yarn or a chain knitting yarn, to a driving mechanism of warp guide bars for two or more kinds of warp knitting structure, which can simultaneously knit other structures.
2. Description of the Related Art
This type of narrow width crochet knitting machine is provided with the following guide bars; plural weft guide bars for supporting a plurality of tube-like guide needles for guiding a weft in-laid yarn, a warp guide bar for supporting a plurality of guide needles for guiding a warp knitting yarn for forming a warp knitted loop, and a needle bar for supporting a plurality of knitting needles for forming a knitted loop. These guide bars are driven by means of a main driving shaft of the knitting machine via a transmission mechanism while having mutual relations with their motions. However, this knitting machine is a small size because of knitting a narrow width knitted fabric, and a dedicated space of the knitting section is narrow and small.
A typical driving mechanism of the weft guide bar and needle bar has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,047. Reading the specification, each opposite ends of first and second driving shafts are rotatably supported onto supports standing on right and left sides of a base, and each driving shaft is attached with an eccentric rotating member. One end of a connecting rod is connected to a bracket which is pivotally supported to the support, and the other end of the connecting rod is pivotally connected to the eccentric rotating member of the first driving shaft which is connected to an arm at the side opposite to the side where the arm is fixed to the needle bar. Thus the bracket and the eccentric rotating member are pivotally connected via the connecting rod.
On the other hand, each of the plurality of weft guide bars has a shaft end at both ends thereof. Each shaft end is inserted through a through hole formed in a block body so as to be horizontally slidably supported. The block body is guided by two guide rods standing on the upper surface of the support, and is supported so as to be vertically slidable. The eccentric rotating member of the second driving shaft and the block body are connected via a connecting rod.
The first driving shaft and the second driving shaft are connected via the main driving shaft and a transmission mechanism. When the main driving shaft is rotatably driven by a motor, the first driving shaft and the second driving shaft are rotated in association with each other, and the needle is moved forward and backward via the connecting rod. The plurality of weft guide bars move up and down via the connecting rod together with the block body. Moreover, a rocking rod end following a motion of cam driven by a rotation of the main driving shaft is abutted against a end face of the shaft end of each weft guide bar, and then, each weft guide bar horizontally reciprocates by the drive of the cam. Thus, the weft guide bar has a compound operation of the vertical direction and the horizontal direction.
A driving mechanism of the above weft guide bar is as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,047, in which a cam is attached to an end of a driving shaft connected at the opposite end to a main driving shaft via a gear, and the cam is abutted against a cam follower attached to one end of the warp guide bar. Moreover, an end of a connecting rod connected at the opposite end to an eccentric disc whose one end is attached to the main driving shaft is rotatably supported to the one end of the warp guide bar via an arm. When the main driving shaft is driven to rotate, the warp guide bar is reciprocated in a horizontal direction by a rotation of the cam; on the other hand, the warp guide bar is rocked forward and backward by the connecting rod. Thus, the warp guide bar has a compound operation of a horizontally reciprocating motion and a rocking motion to forward and backward directions.
Moreover, according to the invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,047, in a general crochet knitting machine, a weft guide needle attached to one of the plurality of weft guide bars is urged against the weft guide bar so as to be able to be advanced and retracted. The weft guide needle is connected to a pulling rope, and pursuant to a pattern of paper pattern, the pulling rope is operated so as to arbitrarily advance and retract the weft guide needle, and thus, an embroidery knitted fabric having a desired pattern is knitted.
However, in the crochet knitting machine which can knit the embroidery knitted fabric, like the invention disclosed in the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,047, the plural weft guide bars are moved for inserting the identical weft in-laid yarn. And since an occupied space of a knitting section is restricted, this type of narrow width crochet knitting machine has generally one warp guide bar for forming a warp knitting loop, and merely knits one kind of knitting structure such as a tricot, chain stitch, two needle stitch or the like.
Meanwhile, with the use of this type of narrow width knitting machine, it is a common practice now that, as disclosed in the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 5,615,563, a tape is knitted while continuously knitting a coil-like engaging element row of a monofilament having a large diameter along one side edge in its longitudinal direction, so as to manufacture a slide fastener stringer. In order to securely fixing the engaging element row formed of the monofilament onto the tape, in addition to an operation for knitting the monofilament having a diameter larger than a warp and a weft in-laid yarn constituting a ground structure, it is necessary to have a complicate knitting structure including weft insertion and two or more kinds of knitted loops as a combination of one kind of knitted loop and an in-laid yarn is insufficient. Moreover, it is desirable to form various knitting pattern in a general tape, and in order to meet the request, two or more kinds of knitted loops must be combined.
As described above, with the use of the conventional narrow width crochet knitting machine, it is impossible to knit a tape having the aforesaid complicate structure combining weft insertion and two or more kind of knitted loops unless the knitting machine is made into a large size.